<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="612" height="350" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1040865674-612x612-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-400879" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1040865674-612x612-1.jpg 612w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1040865674-612x612-1-300x172.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Stock market report. 3d illustration</figcaption></figure>



Jan 17 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Assets across emerging markets took a beating on Wednesday, with equities hitting a two-month low following a raft of dismal economic data from China and&nbsp;reduced bets of interest rate cuts in the U.S.



MSCI&#8217;s index for emerging market (EM) equities&nbsp;.MSCIEF&nbsp;fell 2% by 0923 GMT, on track for its biggest one-day percentage drop since August last year.



Currencies in the region&nbsp;.MIEM00000CUS&nbsp;slid 0.4% while the dollar&nbsp;=USD&nbsp;hovered close to a one-month high.



EM assets were in the red for the third straight day as hawkish comments from top policymakers this week dampened expectations of early rate cuts from global central banks.



Most Asian equities fell, with China&#8217;s blue-chip shares&nbsp;.CSI300&nbsp;hitting their lowest since early 2019 while Hong Kong shares&nbsp;.HSI&nbsp;dropped 3.7% to their lowest since November 2022.



Data showed China&#8217;s economy grew 5.2% in the fourth quarter, missing analysts&#8217; expectations and signalling a patchy recovery in the world&#8217;s second-largest economy. A separate report also pointed to prolonged property sector woes in the country.



&#8220;The key question is what Beijing can do to improve sentiment amongst consumers and boost domestic demand at the time when their main trading partners &#8211; including Eurozone &#8211; are relatively weak and demand from the U.S. could soften as well,&#8221; said Piotr Matys, senior FX analyst at In Touch Capital Markets.



India&#8217;s blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 .NSEI was dragged 1.9% lower after bleak quarterly results from top private lender HDFC Bank.



In South Africa, Johannesburg&#8217;s Top-40&nbsp;.JTOPI&nbsp;index dropped 1.5%,&nbsp;weighed down by weakness in mining stocks as concerns around demand from China hit metal prices.



The rand&nbsp;ZAR=&nbsp;slipped 0.6% to trade at about 19.0874 to the dollar following an over 1% drop in the previous session.



The Indonesian rupiah IDR= held on to declines and was last down 0.3% against the dollar after the country&#8217;s central bank kept policy rates steady on Wednesday, seeking to stabilise the currency and keep inflation within target.



Hungary&#8217;s forint EURHUF= dropped 0.5% against the euro as Deputy Governor Barnabas Virag said the central bank will cut interest rates between 6% and 7% by the middle of the year.



(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

Stock market report. 3d illustration

Stocks, FX fall for third day on bleak China data, rate jitters

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1242149589-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-420995" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1242149589-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1242149589-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1242149589-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1242149589-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1242149589-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/GettyImages-1242149589-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">NAIROBI, KENYA &#8211; 2022/07/27: A Kenya Airways plane seen parked at the parking bay of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. (Photo by John Ochieng/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>



NAIROBI, Jan 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Tanzania has withdrawn approval for Kenyan national carrier Kenya Airways&nbsp;KQNA.NR&nbsp;to operate flights between the Kenyan capital Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania&#8217;s commercial capital, its civil aviation authority said on Monday.



Tanzania said the decision was taken in retaliation for Kenya&#8217;s denial of rights to Tanzania national carrier Air Tanzania to operate cargo flights between the two countries.



In a statement, Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) said it decided &#8220;to rescind the approvals for Kenya Airways (KQ) to operate passenger flights between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam&#8230; with effect from 22 January 2024.&#8221;



However, in separate statements posted on X platform late on Monday, the Kenyan and Tanzanian foreign ministers said both countries would work together to solve the issue within three days.



&#8220;We have jointly agreed that our respective Civil Aviation Authorities will work together to have the matter resolved amicably within the next three days. There should therefore be no cause for alarm,&#8221; Kenya&#8217;s foreign minister Musalia Mudavadi said.



Kenya Airways said it was aware of the ban and was engaging aviation authorities in both countries to find a solution to avoid flight disruptions between Nairobi and Dar es Salaam.



Kenya Airways is one of Africa&#8217;s largest airlines. Tanzania, where attractions include mountains and vast wildlife reserves that teem with game,&nbsp;draws more than a million tourists a year, making it one of its biggest markets.



The clash between Tanzania and Kenya adds to a growing number of trade and commercial disputes between members of the East African Community (EAC), a regional bloc that operates a customs union.



Kenya has previously complained about cheap products from neighbouring Uganda and blocked some, including milk and sugar, drawing protests from Kampala.



Landlocked Uganda has also taken Kenya to a regional court over a dispute related to the importation of petroleum products.



Although Air Tanzania is a small airline, in recent years authorities have been trying to expand its fleet, routes and operations to earn a bigger share of revenues from the region&#8217;s aviation business.



(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema, additional reporting by Bhargav Acharya, Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Christina Fincher and Barbara Lewis)

A Kenya Airways plane seen parked at the parking bay of the

Tanzania withdraws approval for Kenya Airways flights

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107004870-16427966702022-01-21t201709z_969185203_rc2w3s99wb9o_rtrmadp_0_argentina-imf-mexico-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-420118" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107004870-16427966702022-01-21t201709z_969185203_rc2w3s99wb9o_rtrmadp_0_argentina-imf-mexico-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107004870-16427966702022-01-21t201709z_969185203_rc2w3s99wb9o_rtrmadp_0_argentina-imf-mexico-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107004870-16427966702022-01-21t201709z_969185203_rc2w3s99wb9o_rtrmadp_0_argentina-imf-mexico-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107004870-16427966702022-01-21t201709z_969185203_rc2w3s99wb9o_rtrmadp_0_argentina-imf-mexico-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107004870-16427966702022-01-21t201709z_969185203_rc2w3s99wb9o_rtrmadp_0_argentina-imf-mexico.jpeg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The new economic measures laid out by the U.K. government “will likely increase inequality”, according to a spokesperson from the International Monetary Fund.
Yuri Gripas | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



LONDON/ACCRA, Jan 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board is due to meet on Friday to consider the first review of Ghana&#8217;s $3 billion rescue loan programme, a spokesperson said by email on Monday.



Board sign off of the review would unlock a $600 million disbursement. Such approvals are usually seen as a formality once a meeting date has been agreed.



Reuters earlier reported the meeting date, according to three sources familiar with the matter, after the cocoa, gold and oil producing country reached an agreement to restructure $5.4 billion of official creditor debt.



Ghana struck the&nbsp;deal with its bilateral lenders, including China and France, late last week, a key step to unlocking the second tranche of IMF funding.



Ghana&#8217;s finance ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.



The West African country defaulted on most external debt in December 2022 after servicing costs soared.



It also needs to reach a relief deal with private holders of about $13 billion in international bonds.



The bonds rose almost 1 cent on the dollar on Monday, with the 2042 maturity up the most, climbing 0.85 cents to 43.12&nbsp;cents, its highest level since early November.&nbsp;XS2325747637=TE



&#8220;Recently, China encouraged all parties to overcome technical difficulties and narrow differences, and finally led all parties to reach a basic consensus on Ghana&#8217;s debt settlement plan&#8230; on January 8,&#8221; Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday.



Some members of the Official Creditor Committee, which is co-chaired by China and France, are still &#8220;going through their internal procedures,&#8221; she told reporters at a regular news briefing.



Ghana is aiming to restructure $20 billion of external debt, which totalled about $30 billion at the end of 2022, under the Common Framework, a debt restructuring process set up by the G20 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has targeted cutting $10.5 billion from payments due between 2023-2026.



The IMF second tranche payout, once signed off, should also trigger $550 million in additional World Bank funding, Ghana&#8217;s finance ministry said on Friday.



(Reporting by Jorgelina do Rosario and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila, Additional reporting by Liz Lee in Beijing and Marc Jones in London, Writing and additional reporting by Rachel Savage, Editing by Karin Strohecker, Andrew Cawthorne, Bernadette Baum and Sharon Singleton)

107004870-16427966702022-01-21t201709z_969185203_rc2w3s99wb9o_rtrmadp_0_argentina-imf-mexico

IMF board to review Ghana $600 mln loan payout on Friday

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CICDPMVJQVK6ZMQC2XL5J5YS4Q-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-446745" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CICDPMVJQVK6ZMQC2XL5J5YS4Q-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CICDPMVJQVK6ZMQC2XL5J5YS4Q-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CICDPMVJQVK6ZMQC2XL5J5YS4Q-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CICDPMVJQVK6ZMQC2XL5J5YS4Q-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CICDPMVJQVK6ZMQC2XL5J5YS4Q-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/CICDPMVJQVK6ZMQC2XL5J5YS4Q.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A woman sells spices at a market in Kaduna, Nigeria. April 30, 2021. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, Jan 15 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s inflation rate rose to its highest in more than 27 years in December as food prices surged, exacerbating a cost-of-living crisis and piling more pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates.



Consumer inflation rose for the 12th straight month in December to 28.92% year on year from November&#8217;s 28.20%, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.



Inflation in Africa&#8217;s biggest economy and most populous nation has not climbed this high since mid-1996.



The food inflation rate, which accounts for the bulk of Nigeria&#8217;s inflation basket, rose to 33.93% in December from 32.84% a month earlier.



The statistics office said prices rose for a broad range of food items including bread and cereals, oil, fish, meat, fruit and eggs.



Analysts say higher fuel prices and a weaker naira currency&nbsp;NGN=&nbsp;have also stoked price pressures.



David Omojomolo, Africa economist at Capital Economics, said &#8220;inflationary pressures are only likely to build from here,&#8221; citing second-round effects from the removal of a fuel subsidy last year and naira weakness.



He predicted that inflation would breach 30% by the end of the first quarter and said it was unlikely to peak until the middle of 2024.



President Bola Tinubu last May embarked on Nigeria&#8217;s boldest reforms in decades by scrapping a costly but popular fuel subsidy and devaluing the currency to try to revive economic growth. But growth is yet to pick up while inflation has worsened.



Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Olayemi Cardoso is yet to hold a rate-setting meeting since taking office in September.



&#8220;At the next meeting, we think that the CBN will need to raise rates by 400 basis points, to 22.75%, to show that it is taking the inflation fight more seriously,&#8221; Capital Economics&#8217; Omojomolo said in a research note.



&#8220;There&#8217;s a clear risk, though, the CBN underwhelms again. Doing so would undermine much of the momentum and optimism around the policy shift that President Tinubu started last year.&#8221;



(Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; Additional reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe in Lagos; Editing by Alexander Winning and Hugh Lawson)

CICDPMVJQVK6ZMQC2XL5J5YS4Q

Nigeria’s inflation rises to more than 27-year high in December

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="534" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/I7JNEWQ4GVLM3NU76F6XVVSAV4-1-820x534.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-445713" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/I7JNEWQ4GVLM3NU76F6XVVSAV4-1-820x534.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/I7JNEWQ4GVLM3NU76F6XVVSAV4-1-300x195.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/I7JNEWQ4GVLM3NU76F6XVVSAV4-1-138x90.jpg 138w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/I7JNEWQ4GVLM3NU76F6XVVSAV4-1-768x500.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/I7JNEWQ4GVLM3NU76F6XVVSAV4-1-1536x1001.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/I7JNEWQ4GVLM3NU76F6XVVSAV4-1-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: People walk on the street around Kwame Nkrumah circle in Accra, Ghana, December 2, 2016. Picture taken December 2, 2016. REUTERS/Luc Gnago</figcaption></figure>



ACCRA/LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Ghana&#8217;s official creditors have agreed to restructure debts that were extended to the country up until December 2022, two sources told Reuters, with Accra closing in on a key step required to advance its restructuring.



A deal between Ghana and its official creditors would pave the way for the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to approve the disbursement of $600 million under its $3 billion bailout programme.



Discussions over the &#8220;cut-off date&#8221; &#8211; the date after which new loans signed with bilateral creditors will not be restructured &#8211; had recently emerged as a stumbling block to an agreement.



Bilateral lenders, including China and France who co-chair the Official Creditor Committee (OCC), hold around a quarter of Ghana&#8217;s $20 billion external debt earmarked for restructuring.



Some creditors were said to prefer Dec. 31, 2022, as a cut-off date, with Ghana having defaulted earlier that month, while others had pushed for March 24, 2020, when the Group of 20 introduced its debt service suspension initiative (DSSI) to help the world&#8217;s poorest countries cope with the fallout of the COVID crisis. Ghana did not participate in the DSSI.



Ghana&#8217;s finance ministry declined to comment. China&#8217;s central bank, finance ministry and the Export-Import Bank of China did not immediately respond to requests for comment.



Ghana still needs to formally accept the proposal.



One of the sources said the OCC plan foresaw no reduction to principal and interest rates overall, but that Ghana would not pay either for the next four years with payments set to resume thereafter.



Following their meeting on Monday, official creditors had shared the term sheet of their proposal with Ghana, according to media reports and sources.



Speaking about a possible deal with official creditors, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta told Bloomberg he hoped to finish reviewing the draft term sheet by Friday and that &#8220;in terms of the broad framework, all parties are in agreement&#8221;, which he said would allow the IMF to sign off on the disbursement.



(Reporting by Maxwell Akalaare Adombila in Accra and Jorgelina do Rosario in London, additional reporting by Christian Akorlie in Accra and Joe Cash in Beijing, writing by Karin Strohecker, editing by Elisa Martinuzzi and Alex Richardson)

People walk on the street around Kwame Nkrumah circle in Accra

Ghana official creditors agree on restructuring date, key step to deal – sources

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="612" height="357" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1030878162-612x612-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-400669" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1030878162-612x612-1.jpg 612w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/istockphoto-1030878162-612x612-1-300x175.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 612px) 100vw, 612px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">World map with charts and graphs as symbols of global finance</figcaption></figure>



Jan 12 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Emerging markets&#8217; assets were range-bound on Friday after a hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation report did not discourage investors from early rate cut bets, while markets also kept a watch on rising tensions in the Middle East.



The MSCI&#8217;s gauge of emerging market stocks&nbsp;.MSCIEF&nbsp;was up 0.1% at 0920 GMT, while a basket of currencies&nbsp;.MIEM00000CUS&nbsp;ticked up 0.1% against a steady dollar.



For the week, the broader stocks index is on track to lose 0.6%, extending its weak start to the New Year.



Oil prices rose 2% on Friday, even as market participants closely watch the escalating tensions in the Middle East after the United States and Britain carried out air and sea strikes on Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to attacks by the Iran-backed group on shipping in the Red Sea.



Data on Thursday showed U.S. consumer price index (CPI) rose 3.4% on an annual basis in December compared with forecasts of a 3.2% rise, suggesting it was probably too early for the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates.



Core inflation, which excludes volatile items like food and energy, slipped on a yearly basis.



Yet, traders are betting on a 68.1% probability for the Fed to cut rates in March, according to the CME FedWatch tool.



&#8220;Rate expectations were not moved by slightly hotter-than-expected U.S. CPI, and support for the dollar has mostly come through the risk-sentiment channel,&#8221; ING economists wrote in a note.



&#8220;Range-bound trading may persist despite conditions for a stronger dollar,&#8221; they added.



The dollar index&nbsp;=USD&nbsp;and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yields&nbsp;US10YT=RRrallied initially after the CPI readings but ended lower on Thursday.



In Europe, the Hungarian forint EURHUF= slipped 0.1% after inflation in December was cooler-than-expected on an annual basis.



Czech&#8217;s crown EURCZK= gained 0.3% after the country&#8217;s current account showed a surplus of 43.52 billion crowns ($1.94 billion) in November, while domestic retail sales also rose on an annual basis.



The Russian rouble RUBUTSTN=MCX hit over seven-week highs and strengthened past 88 against the dollar, boosted by the state&#8217;s new foreign currency interventions plan and higher oil prices after Western strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen. RU/RUB



The rouble was last seen at 88.0675, after hitting a high of 87.9675.



Across Asia, both China&#8217;s blue-chip index&nbsp;.CSI300&nbsp;and Hong Kong shares&nbsp;.HSIfell 0.4% each after mixed economic data.



China&#8217;s exports grew 2.3% in December from a year earlier, while consumer prices declined for a third month in December highlighting persistent deflationary pressures in an economy struggling to mount a solid recovery.



Turkey&#8217;s lira TRYTOM=D3 weakened and hovered around 30 to the dollar, while the country&#8217;s current account balance turned to a larger-than-expected deficit of $2.72 billion in November after two months of surpluses, central bank data showed.



(Reporting by Siddarth S in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

World map with charts and graphs as symbols of global finance

Assets tread water after US CPI data; stocks set for weekly declines

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SWEUMT7U2BNOBJQWUWR7XK5WEI-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-445639" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SWEUMT7U2BNOBJQWUWR7XK5WEI-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SWEUMT7U2BNOBJQWUWR7XK5WEI-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SWEUMT7U2BNOBJQWUWR7XK5WEI-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SWEUMT7U2BNOBJQWUWR7XK5WEI-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SWEUMT7U2BNOBJQWUWR7XK5WEI-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SWEUMT7U2BNOBJQWUWR7XK5WEI-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convenes the weekly cabinet meeting at the Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv, Israel, January 7, 2024. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool</figcaption></figure>



THE HAGUE, Jan 12 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Israel will respond on Friday to accusations brought by South Africa at the U.N.&#8217;s top court that its military operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide campaign aimed at wiping out the Palestinian population.



South Africa, which filed the lawsuit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in December, asked judges on Thursday to impose emergency measures ordering Israel to immediately halt the offensive.



It said Israel&#8217;s aerial and ground offensive &#8211; which has laid waste to much of the narrow coastal enclave and killed more than 23,000 people according to Gaza health authorities &#8211; aimed to bring about &#8220;the destruction of the population&#8221; of Gaza.



Israel rejected the accusations of genocide as baseless and said South Africa was acting as a mouthpiece for Hamas, which it views as a terrorist organisation seeking to eliminate the Jewish state. Its military was targeting Hamas militants, not Palestinian civilians, it said.



Israel launched its all-out war in Gaza after a cross-border rampage on Oct. 7 by Hamas militants in which Israeli officials said 1,200 people were killed, mainly civilians, and 240 taken hostage back to Gaza.



The 1948 Genocide Convention, enacted in the wake of the mass murder of Jews in the Nazi Holocaust, defines genocide as &#8220;acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group&#8221;.



Since Israeli forces launched their offensive, nearly all of Gaza&#8217;s 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes at least once, causing a humanitarian catastrophe.



Post-apartheid South Africa has long advocated the Palestinian cause, a relationship forged when the African National Congress&#8217; struggle against white-minority rule was cheered on by Yasser Arafat&#8217;s Palestine Liberation Organisation.



The court is expected to rule on possible emergency measures later this month, but will not rule at that time on the genocide allegations &#8211; those proceedings could take years.



The ICJ&#8217;s decisions are final and without appeal &#8211; but the court has no way to enforce them.



(Reporting by Anthony Deutsch, Stephanie van den Berg and Toby Sterling and Bart Meijer; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convenes the weekly cabinet meeting, in Tel Aviv

Israel to counter genocide accusations at World Court

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SK2F2TSLLRNTNDNQ44N4CXN4LE-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-445398" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SK2F2TSLLRNTNDNQ44N4CXN4LE-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SK2F2TSLLRNTNDNQ44N4CXN4LE-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SK2F2TSLLRNTNDNQ44N4CXN4LE-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SK2F2TSLLRNTNDNQ44N4CXN4LE-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SK2F2TSLLRNTNDNQ44N4CXN4LE-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SK2F2TSLLRNTNDNQ44N4CXN4LE-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">People sit inside the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the day of the trial to hear a request for emergency measures by South Africa, who asked the court to order Israel to stop its military actions in Gaza and to desist from what South Africa says are genocidal acts committed against Palestinians during the war with Hamas in Gaza, in The Hague, Netherlands, January 11, 2024. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen</figcaption></figure>



GAZA/THE HAGUE, Jan 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Israel faced down accusations at the World Court on Thursday of genocide in its war in Gaza, as the first residents returned to scenes of total devastation in northern areas where Israeli forces have begun withdrawing this week.



Three months of Israeli bombardment has laid much of the narrow coastal enclave to waste, killing more than 23,000 people and driving nearly the entire population of 2.3 million Palestinians from their homes. An Israeli blockade has sharply restricted supplies of food, fuel and medicine, creating what the United Nations describes as a humanitarian catastrophe.



Israel says its only means to defend itself is by eradicating Hamas, the Islamist group that rules Gaza, whose fighters sworn to Israel&#8217;s destruction stormed through Israeli communities on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing 240 hostages. Israel blames Hamas for all harm to civilians for operating among them, which the fighters deny.



The case, brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, accuses Israel of violating the 1948 genocide convention, enacted in the wake of the mass murder of Jews in the Holocaust, which mandates all countries to ensure such crimes are never repeated.



Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy compared the lawsuit to a centuries-old antisemitic conspiracy theory falsely accusing Jews of killing babies for rituals: &#8220;The State of Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice to dispel South Africa&#8217;s absurd blood libel, as Pretoria gives political and legal cover to the Hamas rapist regime.&#8221;



The preliminary hearings this week will consider whether the court should order Israel to stop fighting while it investigates the full merits of the case.



In Rafah, in southern Gaza where the bodies of members of the al-Arjany family killed overnight, including three small children, were laid out in shrouds outside a morgue, neighbours said the court must intervene to halt the war.



&#8220;To the ICJ: what is the fault of this baby?&#8221; said neighbour Khamis Kelab, cradling the smallest of the shrouded bodies in his arms as women wailed nearby.



&#8220;What did this girl do? What crime did she commit? Was she a terrorist? Did this baby fire rockets?&#8221; he said. &#8220;She was inside a tent, in the freezing cold, she was hit by a strike, this baby is just a few days old, you people.&#8221;



South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said his country was driven to bring the case by &#8220;the ongoing slaughter of the people of Gaza&#8221;, and motivated by South Africa&#8217;s own apartheid history.



&#8220;Israel has a genocidal intent against the Palestinians in Gaza,&#8221; Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, advocate of the High Court of South Africa, told the court in the Hague. &#8220;The intent to destroy Gaza has been nurtured at the highest level of state.&#8221;



The case reveals stark international polarisation. Several Western countries joined Washington in calling genocide accusations against Israel unjustified, not least given the ruthlessness of the Hamas attacks that precipitated the war.



&#8220;In fact, it is those who are violently attacking Israel who continue to openly call for the annihilation of Israel and the mass murder of Jews,&#8221; said State Department spokesperson Matt Miller.



Some developing states, including heavyweight Brazil, backed South Africa.



Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters: &#8220;We urge the court to reject all pressure and take a decision to criminalise the Israeli occupation and stop the aggression on Gaza.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-gaza-will-be-rebuilt-we-will-rebury-our-dead">&#8216;GAZA WILL BE REBUILT. WE WILL REBURY OUR DEAD&#8217;</h2>



Since the New Year, Israel has announced a new phase in the war, to begin drawing down forces in the northern half of the Gaza Strip where its offensive began. Even so, fighting has only intensified in southern areas.



The relative quiet in the north has let residents begin trickling back into obliterated cities, finding a moonscape often with scant trace of where homes once stood.



Yousef Fares, a freelance journalist, filmed himself walking through a wasteland surrounded by scorched ruins that was once a part of Gaza City, home to nearly a million people. A few civilians passed by, some wobbling on bicycles over a track across the mud.



&#8220;All the houses you see are destroyed, completely or partially,&#8221; he said.



&#8220;We are now at the Tuffah old cemetery, which is over 100 years old. All those graves were exhumed, they were run over by the Israeli bulldozers and tanks. People are coming from various areas of Gaza City to search for the bodies of their sons.&#8221;



Abu Ayesh, who returned to a nearby part of Gaza City, told Reuters by phone that the destruction was &#8220;earthquake-like&#8221;.



&#8220;I tell (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu that Gaza will be rebuilt, we will build our homes and we will rebury our dead.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-netanyahu-no-intention-to-re-occupy-gaza">NETANYAHU: NO INTENTION TO RE-OCCUPY GAZA</h2>



While Washington has backed Israel&#8217;s military campaign as justified by its right to self-defence, it has also called on its ally to scale the war back, do more to protect civilians, and maintain the hope of a future independent Palestinian state.



This week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the region, meeting Israeli and Palestinian officials and leaders of neighbouring Arab States, defending Israel&#8217;s campaign to eradicate Hamas but pushing for it to work with the Palestinian Authority (PA), which recognises Israel.



Israel has been vague about its ultimate intentions but says it wants security control of Gaza indefinitely and won&#8217;t hand it to the PA, which exercises limited self rule in the Israeli occupied West Bank but was pushed out of Gaza in 2007 by Hamas.



Some far-right members of Netanyahu&#8217;s coalition government have openly called for Palestinians to leave Gaza and Israelis to settle there permanently. In a post on X, Netanyahu insisted this was not Israel&#8217;s aim.



&#8220;Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full compliance with international law.&#8221;



(Reporting by Mohammed Salem in Rafah, Gaza; Nidal al-Mughrabi in Qatar; Dan Williams and Henriette Chacar in Jerusalem; Anthony Deutsch in the HagueWriting by Peter Graff; Editing by Sharon Singleton)

People sit inside the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the day of the trial to hear a request for emergency measures by South Africa, who asked the court to order Israel to stop its military actions in Gaza, in The Hague

Israel faces genocide charges at World Court; Gazans return to wasteland

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-404443" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Stock-value-rising-and-falling.jpg 1254w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Macro view of a screen of trading terminal with abstract financial graph and digits. Trading and forex concept. 3D Rendering</figcaption></figure>



Jan 11 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Emerging markets assets&nbsp;crept&nbsp;higher on Thursday ahead of U.S. inflation data that investors are&nbsp;watching closely for cues to interest rate cut path in the world&#8217;s largest economy,&nbsp;while the Turkish lira breached the 30-to-the-dollar mark, touching fresh lows.



The MSCI&#8217;s gauge of emerging market stocks&nbsp;.MSCIEF&nbsp;advanced 0.6% at 0934 GMT, while a basket of currencies&nbsp;.MIEM00000CUS&nbsp;ticked up 0.1% against a weak U.S. dollar. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields were also seen slightly lower.



If gains hold, both the indexes are set for&nbsp;their&nbsp;best session&nbsp;this year.



Market participants will keep a sharp watch on U.S. consumer prices index(CPI) data, due later in the day, where core CPI in December is expected to remain unchanged at 0.3% from the month before, while on an annual basis, it is&nbsp;likely&nbsp;to slow to 3.8% from 4% in November, a Reuters poll showed.



&#8220;Unless there is a significant upside surprise in today&#8217;s CPI report today, the slowing inflation trend should encourage the Fed to begin cutting rates, giving it more confidence that inflation is falling back towards their target,&#8221; Lee Hardman, currency analyst at MUFG, said in a note.



Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said Wednesday that it’s still too soon to call for rate cuts as the central bank still has some distance to cover before inflation hits the Fed&#8217;s 2% target.



Turkey&#8217;s lira&nbsp;TRYTOM=D3&nbsp;hit a new record low beyond 30.0 to the dollar and was last trading at 30.0050.



The lira lost more than a third of its value last year and more than 80% in the previous five years, having been battered by a series of past rate cuts in the face of soaring inflation.



Wall Street bank JPMorgan revised its target for the lira by year-end to about 36 to the dollar from 34 previously, saying it maintained a &#8220;bullish view&#8221; on the currency.



Turkey&#8217;s main banking stock index&nbsp;.XBANK&nbsp;gained 0.5%, touching a fresh record high.



Northward, the Russian rouble strengthened to a six-week high against the dollar, passing the 89 threshold it has been flirting with this week, supported by increased supply of foreign currency after Russia&#8217;s New Year holidays.



The rouble&nbsp;RUBUTSTN=MCX&nbsp;was last seen at 88.7875.



In Europe, Czech&#8217;s crown EURCZK= fell 0.3% against the euro after the domestic annual inflation rate in December came in cooler than expected.



Across Asia, most stocks and currencies were in the green, boosting the broader indexes.



JPMorgan said on Wednesday it was excluding Egypt from its GBI-EM emerging market government bond index series effective Jan. 31.



(Reporting by Siddarth S in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

Macro view of a screen of trading terminal with abstract financial graph and digits. Trading and forex concept. 3D Rendering

Assets gain ahead of U.S. CPI data; Turkish lira breaches 30 per dollar mark

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/32Q4RAYUBBNQ5IAVLOJIMEP6MM-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-445306" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/32Q4RAYUBBNQ5IAVLOJIMEP6MM-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/32Q4RAYUBBNQ5IAVLOJIMEP6MM-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/32Q4RAYUBBNQ5IAVLOJIMEP6MM-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/32Q4RAYUBBNQ5IAVLOJIMEP6MM-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/32Q4RAYUBBNQ5IAVLOJIMEP6MM-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/32Q4RAYUBBNQ5IAVLOJIMEP6MM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Palestinians gather next to a damaged vehicle as they inspect the site of an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip January 10, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Al-Masri</figcaption></figure>



GAZA/THE HAGUE, Jan 11 (Reuters) &#8211; Israel prepared to defend itself on Thursday at the top U.N. court against accusations of genocide in Gaza, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time publicly rebuffed calls by some right-wing ministers to permanently occupy the enclave.



As Israel&#8217;s war against Hamas militants rages in Gaza, where Palestinian officials say 23,000 have been killed, the International Court of Justice in the Hague was set to open two days of hearings in a case brought by South Africa in December claiming the war violates the 1948 Genocide Convention.



&#8220;Our opposition to the ongoing slaughter of the people of Gaza has driven us as a country to approach the ICJ,&#8221; South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday of the genocide accusations, rejected by Israel and its top backer, the United States.



&#8220;As a people who once tasted the bitter fruits of dispossession, discrimination, racism and state-sponsored violence, we are clear that we will stand on the right side of history,&#8221; Ramaphosa said.



For almost half a century until 1994, South Africa&#8217;s white minority imposed harsh rule on the Black majority under the apartheid system of racial separation.



In its 84-page filing South Africa says that by killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious mental and bodily harm and by creating conditions &#8220;calculated to bring about their physical destruction&#8221;, Israel is committing genocide against them.



The 1948 treaty defines genocide as &#8220;acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group&#8221;.



Ahead of the hearings, Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy said: &#8220;The State of Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice to dispel South Africa&#8217;s absurd blood libel, as Pretoria gives political and legal cover to the Hamas rapist regime.&#8221;



The hearings will deal exclusively with South Africa&#8217;s request for an emergency order that Israel suspend military action in Gaza while the court, also known as the World Court, hears the merits of the case &#8211; a process that could take years.



Colombia and Brazil expressed their support for South Africa late on Wednesday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-us-urges-israel-to-protect-civilians">US URGES ISRAEL TO PROTECT CIVILIANS</h2>



Israel launched its offensive after Hamas fighters carried out an Oct. 7 cross-border rampage in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 240 abducted.



Since then, Israeli forces have laid waste to much of Gaza, and nearly all its 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes at least once, causing a humanitarian catastrophe.



Washington, while rejecting South Africa&#8217;s genocide claims, urged Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians.



&#8220;Allegations that Israel is committing genocide are unfounded,&#8221; State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said in a statement. &#8220;In fact, it is those who are violently attacking Israel who continue to openly call for the annihilation of Israel and the mass murder of Jews.&#8221;



Miller expressed support for Israel&#8217;s &#8220;right to defend itself against Hamas’ terrorist acts&#8221;, adding that Israel must &#8220;comply with international humanitarian law&#8221; and &#8220;look for more ways to prevent civilian harm and to investigate credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian law when they arise.&#8221;



Rights group Amnesty International said it had not determined whether &#8220;the situation in Gaza amounts to genocide&#8221; but &#8220;there are alarming warning signs, given the staggering scale of death and destruction&#8221; in the three-month-old war.



It flagged &#8220;an appalling spike in dehumanizing and racist rhetoric against Palestinians by certain Israeli government and military officials&#8221;.



In its statement, Amnesty added the war and Israel&#8217;s &#8220;illegal siege in Gaza&#8221; were &#8220;inflicting unfathomable levels of suffering&#8221;, putting at risk the survival of those in Gaza.



On the eve of the hearings, Netanyahu opposed calls from right-wing members of his government, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, for Palestinians to leave Gaza voluntarily, making way for Israelis to settle there.



Smotrich has said that if a large majority of Palestinians were to leave Gaza, &#8220;Most of Israeli society will say &#8216;Why not, it&#8217;s a nice place, let&#8217;s make the desert bloom, it doesn&#8217;t come at anyone&#8217;s expense.'&#8221;



Netanyahu posted on social media platform X: &#8220;I want to make a few points absolutely clear: Israel has no intention of permanently occupying Gaza or displacing its civilian population.&#8221;



Potentially timing his comments ahead of the court hearings, he added: &#8220;Israel is fighting Hamas terrorists, not the Palestinian population, and we are doing so in full compliance with international law.&#8221;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fighting-in-gaza-continues">FIGHTING IN GAZA CONTINUES</h2>



Jordan and Egypt warned on Wednesday against any Israeli re-occupation of the Gaza Strip and appealed for uprooted residents to be allowed to return home.



In Gaza, Israeli strikes intensified despite Israel&#8217;s pledge to pull out some troops and shift to a more targeted campaign.



Israel&#8217;s chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told a briefing the military was focussing its operations on Khan Younis and the refugee camps in the centre of the Strip.



In the latest sign of the three-month-old war spreading, U.S. and British warships in the Red Sea fended off the biggest attack yet from Yemen&#8217;s Houthi movement, which says it is acting to support Gaza.



Washington and London said they shot down 21 drones and missiles aimed at shipping lanes. No one was hurt.



The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution demanding that the Houthis immediately cease the shipping attacks.



The World Health Organization cancelled a planned medical aid mission to Gaza due to security concerns, the sixth such cancellation in two weeks.



The Palestinian Red Crescent said four of its staffers were killed by an Israeli strike near Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, while Palestinian health officials said four children were killed in an Israeli air strike on a house in Rafah.



U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on his fourth trip to the region during the war, met Palestinian leaders in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.



The State Department said Blinken expressed support for a Palestinian state and discussed efforts to protect and aid civilians in Gaza. The Palestinian Authority said Abbas told Blinken no Palestinians should be displaced from Gaza or the West Bank.



Senior White House adviser Amos Hochstein is expected to visit Beirut on Thursday, a U.S. official said, as part of U.S. efforts to ease tension along the Israel-Lebanon border.



(Reporting by Mohammed Salem in Rafah, Gaza; Simon Lewis in Ramallah, West Bank; Nidal al-Mughrabi in Qatar; Dan Williams and Henriette Chacar in Jerusalem; Michelle Nichols in New York; Writing by Cynthia Osterman and William Mallard; Editing by Michael Perry and Clarence Fernandez)

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike in Deir Al-Balah

Israel to face Gaza genocide charges at World Court

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="550" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/JEHKYSAZOBOINHK3G56MNY7VOM-820x550.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-444999" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/JEHKYSAZOBOINHK3G56MNY7VOM-820x550.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/JEHKYSAZOBOINHK3G56MNY7VOM-300x201.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/JEHKYSAZOBOINHK3G56MNY7VOM-134x90.jpg 134w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/JEHKYSAZOBOINHK3G56MNY7VOM-768x515.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/JEHKYSAZOBOINHK3G56MNY7VOM-1536x1031.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/JEHKYSAZOBOINHK3G56MNY7VOM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: The flag alley at the United Nations European headquarters is seen during the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, September 11, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



GENEVA, Jan 10 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Morocco won a vote on Wednesday to lead the United Nations Human Rights Council after a heated showdown with South Africa, which said Rabat&#8217;s human rights record made it unfit to preside over the body.



The Moroccan candidate, Ambassador Omar Zniber, received 30 votes, and his South African opponent, Ambassador Mxolisi Nkosi, secured 17 in a secret ballot in Geneva.



Prior to the vote, Nkosi told Reuters that Morocco was the &#8220;antithesis of what the council stands for&#8221; and said the country&#8217;s election would undermine the body&#8217;s credibility.



Morocco, in turn, accused South Africa and some other African states of undermining its efforts to hold the position, a prestigious but mostly symbolic post.



&#8220;The Kingdom&#8217;s election, supported by a large number of countries around the globe in spite of Algeria&#8217;s and South Africa&#8217;s efforts to counter it, demonstrates the trust and the credibility inspired by Morocco&#8217;s external actions&#8230;,&#8221; the Moroccan foreign ministry said.



The vote marks a rare public dispute in the African group whose turn it was to lead the 47-member council. It normally strives to take decisions as a bloc.



The dispute in part revolves around Morocco&#8217;s sovereignty claim over Western Sahara, where the Algeria-backed Polisario Front is seeking independence. Morocco has denied allegations of rights abuses against its opponents there.



As part of a broader strategy, Morocco has been courting countries, including African neighbours, to build support for its policies for the former Spanish territory.



It has failed to garner the support of South Africa, which helped organise an event to promote self-determination for the Sahrawi people in Geneva last year.



Rights groups say Morocco&#8217;s new role should prompt it to safeguard human rights at the highest level.



&#8220;In particular, Morocco must refrain from intimidating or carrying out reprisals against human rights defenders engaging with the U.N.,&#8221; said Tess McEvoy, the Co-Director of the New York office of the International Service for Human Rights advocacy group.



The U.N. Human Rights Council, which convenes several times a year, is the only intergovernmental global body designed to protect human rights worldwide. It can increase scrutiny of countries&#8217; human rights records and authorise probes.



(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Emma Farge in Geneva, Ahmed El Jechtimi in Rabat; Editing by Timothy Heritage)

comFILE PHOTO: United Nations European headquarters in Geneva

Morocco wins vote to lead UN human rights body after showdown with South Africa

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="528" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/AYCWBU7S55KA3CCVAX27AQTKOM-820x528.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-426524" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/AYCWBU7S55KA3CCVAX27AQTKOM-820x528.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/AYCWBU7S55KA3CCVAX27AQTKOM-300x193.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/AYCWBU7S55KA3CCVAX27AQTKOM-140x90.jpg 140w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/AYCWBU7S55KA3CCVAX27AQTKOM-768x494.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/AYCWBU7S55KA3CCVAX27AQTKOM-1536x989.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/AYCWBU7S55KA3CCVAX27AQTKOM-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A worker arrives at the Jwaneng diamond mine,operated by Debswana, a joint venture between Anglo American unit De Beers and the Botswana government outside Gaborone,Botswana, file. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Jan 10 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Global diamond giant De Beers said it will go ahead with a planned $1 billion investment to extend the life of its flagship Jwaneng mine in Botswana, even as last year&#8217;s downturn in gem demand persists.



The Anglo American&nbsp;AAL.L&nbsp;unit and the Botswana government, which jointly own Debswana Diamond Company, have approved the spending that will convert the Jwaneng pit into an underground operation.



Debswana said in 2018 it planned an investment to extend the lifespan of the mine by 11 years from 2024. De Beers said the spending is necessary as long-term supply of rough gems is expected to tighten.



Angola last year started mining at its new Luele project, the biggest in the country and one of the world&#8217;s largest by estimated resources, despite depressed diamond demand.



&#8220;The global supply of natural diamonds is falling, so moving forward with the Jwaneng underground project creates new value for investors,&#8221; De Beers CEO Al Cook said.



Demand for rough diamonds has been weak in recent months with India &#8211; cutter and polisher of 90% of the world&#8217;s rough diamonds &#8211; asking global miners to stop selling it gemstones to manage accumulated stocks.



&#8220;This investment is aligned with our strategy to prioritise investments in the highest quality projects,&#8221; Cook said.



De Beers last year agreed a new diamond sales pact, which will see the government&#8217;s share of diamonds from the Debswana joint venture gradually increase to 50% over the next decade.



(Reporting by Felix Njini and Nellie Peyton; Editing by Louise Heavens and Jan Harvey)

A worker arrives at the Jwaneng diamond mine

De Beers approves $1 billion spending at Botswana mine

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMF-World-Bank-to-proceed-with-annual-meetings-in-Morocco-in-October-820x547.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-427563" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMF-World-Bank-to-proceed-with-annual-meetings-in-Morocco-in-October-820x547.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMF-World-Bank-to-proceed-with-annual-meetings-in-Morocco-in-October-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMF-World-Bank-to-proceed-with-annual-meetings-in-Morocco-in-October-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMF-World-Bank-to-proceed-with-annual-meetings-in-Morocco-in-October-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMF-World-Bank-to-proceed-with-annual-meetings-in-Morocco-in-October-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/IMF-World-Bank-to-proceed-with-annual-meetings-in-Morocco-in-October-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Jan 9 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;The International Monetary Fund&#8217;s executive board&nbsp;has completed the third review of Mozambique&#8217;s three-year loan program, allowing for an immediate disbursement to Maputo of about $60.7 million, the fund said.



The review brings total disbursements under the $456 million Extended Credit Facility program approved in 2022 to about $273 million, the IMF said late on Monday.



&#8220;Program performance has been satisfactory,&#8221; it said in a statement, adding that inflationary pressures had declined sharply and the economic recovery is accelerating.



The three-year arrangement is expected to support economic recovery and policies to reduce public debt and financing vulnerabilities, while creating space for public investments in human capital, climate adaptation and infrastructure.



(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Kim Coghill)

FILE PHOTO: The IMF logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington

IMF approves disbursement of $60.7 million to Mozambique

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="800" height="533" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/download-71.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-427693" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/download-71.jpg 800w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/download-71-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/download-71-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/download-71-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Gold bars are stacked in the safe deposit boxes room of the Pro Aurum gold house in Munich, Germany, August 14, 2019. REUTERS/Michael Dalder</figcaption></figure>



HARARE, Jan 8 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Zimbabwe produced 30 metric tons of gold in 2023, 15% less than the previous year, official data showed on Monday, as electricity cuts and currency volatility impacted output.



The southern African country was once among the top gold producers on the continent but has fallen far behind regional peers Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Tanzania as an extended economic crisis kept investors away.



Zimbabwe remains largely under-explored and its operating mines struggle to raise capital due to concerns over government policy and property rights, especially after the seizure of white-owned farms at the turn of the century.



Output plunged to a mere 3 tons in 2008, at the height of Zimbabwe&#8217;s political and hyperinflation crisis. Although production has recovered in recent years, reaching an all-time high of 35 tons in 2022, the country still lags behind its regional peers, despite its significant potential.



The country&#8217;s 2023 gold haul of 30.11 tons fell short of the government&#8217;s target of 40 tons for the year, showed data from Fidelity Refineries, the state-owned agency which solely processes all the gold produced in the country.



Zimbabwean gold producers, along with all other exporters from the country, receive 75% of their earnings in U.S. dollars and the balance in a local currency that lost more than 80% of its value last year alone.



The country also experienced intensified power cuts due to the frequent breakdown of its ageing coal-fired plants, while generation at the Kariba hydropower station continues to be throttled by low water levels.



Most of Zimbabwe&#8217;s gold is produced by small-scale operators and artisanal miners, a highly fragmented structure that lacks the advantages and efficiencies of scale.



Some of the country&#8217;s top gold producers include the state-owned Kuvimba Mining House, Caledonia Mining Corporation&nbsp;CALq.L, Padenga&nbsp;PHL.VF&nbsp;and RioZim&nbsp;RTNR.ZI.



(Reporting by Nyasha Chingono; Editing by Nelson Banya and Louise Heavens)

download-71

Zimbabwe gold output declines 15% amid electricity, forex shortages

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="678" height="452" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/images-4.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-444190" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/images-4.jpeg 678w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/images-4-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/images-4-135x90.jpeg 135w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A screen displaying an advertisement for iPhone 11 Pro is seen outside an Apple store in Beijing, China October 31, 2019. REUTERS/Florence Lo/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



BEIJING, Jan 8 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Apple&nbsp;AAPL.O&#8217;s iPhone sales in China dropped by 30% in the first week of 2024, Jefferies analysts said in a note, adding to signs of growing competitive pressures from domestic rivals such as Huawei&nbsp;HWT.UL&nbsp;for the U.S. tech giant.



The decline in&nbsp;Apple&#8217;s sales was the primary catalyst for an overall double-digit drop in China smartphone shipments for the first week, according to a note the brokerage published on Sunday. Other Android brands and Huawei achieved relatively flat growth year-over-year during this period, the note said.



This decrease in Apple&#8217;s sales took place despite aggressive discounting of multiple iPhone models through major Chinese online marketplaces, according to the research note. For example, the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max received a 16% price reduction on the e-commerce platform Pinduoduo in the first week of 2024.



The 30% drop represents an acceleration from the 3% year-over-year decline the U.S. company saw for all of 2023 in its third-largest market, Jefferies said, adding that the brokerage derived this from its own market tracking. Specifically, the 3% decline in 2023 equated to a 0.4% decrease in&nbsp;Apple&#8217;s market share.



Jefferies analysts said&nbsp;Apple&#8217;s decline is largely attributed to competitive pressures from Chinese rivals, especially Huawei, which launched its Mate 60 series of phones in August last year.



Apple&nbsp;and Huawei did not immediately respond to requests for comment.



The Mate 60 line is widely viewed as marking Huawei&#8217;s comeback to the high-end smartphone market after years of U.S. sanctions that had previously hampered its progress.



For the final quarter of 2023, Huawei&#8217;s share in the Chinese smartphone market rose by about 6%, according to the note.



According to the Jefferies analysts,&nbsp;Apple&nbsp;will likely face more competitive pressure from domestic rivals throughout 2024. Their forecast predicts&nbsp;Apple&#8217;s shipment volumes will continue declining by double digits in 2024, while Huawei is expected to continue gaining market share.



Specifically, they estimate that Huawei will ship approximately 64 million smartphones worldwide in 2024 &#8211; up substantially from the estimated less than 35 million shipped in 2023.



Following a years-long slump, the Chinese smartphone market is poised for a rebound other analysts have forecasted, with research firm IDC predicting unspecified year-on-year sales growth in the fourth quarter after ten consecutive quarters of falling shipments.



(Reporting by Yelin Mo and Brenda Goh, Editing by Louise Heavens)

images (4)

Apple iPhone sales in China fall 30% in first week of 2024 – Jefferies

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="810" height="540" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/download-62.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-423481" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/download-62.jpg 810w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/download-62-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/download-62-135x90.jpg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/download-62-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 810px) 100vw, 810px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">FILE PHOTO: A person holds a new 1000 naira note as the Central Bank of Nigeria releases the notes to the public through the banks in Abuja, Nigeria, December 15, 2022. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde</figcaption></figure>



ABUJA, Jan 8 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Nigeria&#8217;s central bank has paid nearly $2 billion in outstanding foreign exchange forwards in the last three months in a bid to clear a backlog of dollars, a spokesperson has said, but forex shortages continue to hobble the country&#8217;s naira currency.



Africa&#8217;s biggest economy has nearly $7 billion in forex forwards that have matured, a major concern for investors, but the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has promised to pay up to boost confidence in the foreign exchange market.



&#8220;In the past three months, the CBN has also redeemed outstanding forward liabilities amounting to almost USD 2 billion,&#8221; acting spokesperson Hakama Sadi Ali said in a statement late on Sunday.



&#8220;This underscores the Bank&#8217;s commitment to the resolution of pending obligations and a functional foreign exchange market.&#8221;



Nigeria&#8217;s foreign currency shortages have been worsened by declining oil production, which is the country&#8217;s largest export, accounting for more than 90% of dollar inflows.



Ali said the CBN had recently paid $61.64 million to foreign airlines, who sold tickets in the local naira currency but have not been able to get their money out of the country.



Foreign airlines were owed more than $700 million at the end of November.



&#8220;These payments signify the CBN&#8217;s ongoing efforts to settle all remaining valid forward transactions, with the aim of alleviating the current pressure on the country&#8217;s exchange rate,&#8221; Ali said.



President Bola Tinubu has promised to boost foreign currency inflows into Nigeria by attracting new investment, ramping up oil production and reforming the foreign exchange market.



(Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

download-62

Nigeria central bank pays nearly $2 billion towards FX backlog

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="517" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/GNZ4EKIZHBJMHAHGTKTLUHIQ54-820x517.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-415106" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/GNZ4EKIZHBJMHAHGTKTLUHIQ54-820x517.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/GNZ4EKIZHBJMHAHGTKTLUHIQ54-300x189.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/GNZ4EKIZHBJMHAHGTKTLUHIQ54-143x90.jpg 143w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/GNZ4EKIZHBJMHAHGTKTLUHIQ54-768x484.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/GNZ4EKIZHBJMHAHGTKTLUHIQ54.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A 3D-printed oil pump jack is seen in front of displayed OPEC logo in this illustration picture, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



LONDON, Jan 5 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;OPEC DECEMBER OIL OUTPUT RISES BY 70,000 BPD FROM NOVEMBER TO 27.88 MILLION BPD AHEAD OF 2024 CUTS, ANGOLA EXIT &#8211; REUTERS SURVEY



OPEC oil output rose in December, a Reuters survey found on Friday, as increases in Iraq, Angola and Nigeria offset ongoing cuts by Saudi Arabia and other members of the wider OPEC+ alliance to support the market.



The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 27.88 million barrels per day (bpd) last month, the survey found, up 70,000 bpd from November. Output is down more than 1 million bpd from the same month a year ago.&nbsp;PRODN-TOTAL



The boost comes ahead of further OPEC+ cuts in 2024 and Angola&#8217;s exit from OPEC, which are set to lower January output and market share. OPEC&#8217;s market share has already been falling due to output restraint and the departure of some members.



In December, the biggest increases of 60,000 bpd came from Iraq and Angola, which both boosted exports, the survey found.



Nigeria also shipped more crude abroad without, as yet, beginning oil products output at its new Dangote refinery.



The Reuters survey, which aims to track supply to the market, is based on shipping data provided by external sources, Refinitiv Eikon flows data, information from companies that track flows such as Petro-Logistics and Kpler and information provided by sources at oil companies, OPEC and consultants.



(Additional reporting by Ahmad Ghaddar, Editing by Louise Heavens)

Reuters

Stocks, FX fall for third day on bleak China data, rate jitters

Tanzania withdraws approval for Kenya Airways flights

IMF board to review Ghana $600 mln loan payout on Friday

Nigeria’s inflation rises to more than 27-year high in December

Ghana official creditors agree on restructuring date, key step to deal – sources

Assets tread water after US CPI data; stocks set for weekly declines

Israel to counter genocide accusations at World Court

Israel faces genocide charges at World Court; Gazans return to wasteland

Assets gain ahead of U.S. CPI data; Turkish lira breaches 30 per dollar mark

Israel to face Gaza genocide charges at World Court

Morocco wins vote to lead UN human rights body after showdown with South Africa

De Beers approves $1 billion spending at Botswana mine

IMF approves disbursement of $60.7 million to Mozambique

Zimbabwe gold output declines 15% amid electricity, forex shortages

Apple iPhone sales in China fall 30% in first week of 2024 – Jefferies

Nigeria central bank pays nearly $2 billion towards FX backlog

OPEC December oil output rises before new cuts, Angola exit – Reuters survey

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Reuters

Stocks, FX fall for third day on bleak China data, rate jitters

Tanzania withdraws approval for Kenya Airways flights

IMF board to review Ghana $600 mln loan payout on Friday

Nigeria’s inflation rises to more than 27-year high in December

Ghana official creditors agree on restructuring date, key step to deal – sources

Assets tread water after US CPI data; stocks set for weekly declines

Israel to counter genocide accusations at World Court

Israel faces genocide charges at World Court; Gazans return to wasteland

Assets gain ahead of U.S. CPI data; Turkish lira breaches 30 per dollar mark

Israel to face Gaza genocide charges at World Court

Morocco wins vote to lead UN human rights body after showdown with South Africa

De Beers approves $1 billion spending at Botswana mine

IMF approves disbursement of $60.7 million to Mozambique

Zimbabwe gold output declines 15% amid electricity, forex shortages

Apple iPhone sales in China fall 30% in first week of 2024 – Jefferies

Nigeria central bank pays nearly $2 billion towards FX backlog

OPEC December oil output rises before new cuts, Angola exit – Reuters survey

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Newsletters